A GENEALOGIST

  YES I AM 

  AN AVID

 FAMILY 

HISTORY BUFF

PERHAPS EVEN 

ADDICTED

 I LOOK FOR THE DEAD 
AND AT TIMES EVEN FIND SOME LIVE ONES.

    I have been interested in family history for A LOT of years. I even remember when Family History and Genealogy were two different things---At least in people's minds. I have to blame this terrible all consuming malady--at least partially-- on one of my older relatives who got me interested. She is long gone now, but perhaps still helping me???

   I recall the "good old days" when I would spend all day or at least an evening at the old Store in Salt Lake, that had been converted into the "Genealogy Library." I also recall that after doing all the "pick & shovel" work for all one day, or two or three, I might find one person who I was related to. Oh what a difference a few decades and A COMPUTER has made. Perhaps I still spend all day, or perhaps more, but now I do it in the comfort of my home propped in front of my computer and almost always find more than one person each session.  That is I am home unless I am out looking at a cemetery, or visiting a relative or checking the "obits" in a newspaper somewhere.

   I love the old pictures of people and places. I love history in general but pictures and places seem to turn my mind loose to imagine and speculate on what was going on at the time the picture was taken. The two pictures above are great pictures but if you do not know who they are and where they were taken they really are not interesting. When you know one is of me and my wife and one is my Mother and Father they become more interesting---- but if you know a little about their lives, they become even more interesting. So I guess that is a big part of Family History.

Several Years ago I received an E-Mail from a person I had never met. He told me he had seen my name on an Internet Site and asked if I was still working on the Baldwin Line of Genealogy. After I told him that indeed I was, he asked me if I would like a 1850 Bible that had several generations of Baldwin and Tibbals births, dates and deaths recorded in it. In a week or so I did receive it in a "frozen Pizza Box". There were over 100 names recorded that were in my line. CO-INCIDENCE? I think not!

Here is the end product of my Wife's and my work for several years. It is a personal copy of our life histories. We were able to get it done so each of our children could have a copy, before we forgot what has went on in our lives up to that point!

A GENEALOGIST

I am a Genealogist

   Who looks for the dead.

And sometimes even a live person

   Pokes in his head.

I look in cemeteries, books and such

   Sometimes I find something

   And somethimes not much.

I awake some nights, when I think I hear

   "Come and find me, I am right here."

I sit here and turn pages

   And ponder and pray.

Will I find anyones name today?

    Of course you will my mind seems to say.

So it is 2:00 AM and I cannot sleep.

   I turn on my computer and it goes beep-beep.

I start looking for facts as I start to yawn.

   I hope I find something, before mornings dawn.

Now that I have become a little OLD

   I have lots of time, but my memory has dimmed.

I keep on looking as I have been told

   So the list of unknown's will be trimmed.

Well enough of this---However if there is anyone out there in Cyber-Space who is related to the Baldwin's that came from England and settled in Connecticut in the 1600's and then spread all over the USA I sure would like to see if our lines connect!

W.R. Baldwin Aug 2015